Best munchies at 35,000 feet

Flying the friendly skies isn’t nearly as friendly as it used to be. From stricter luggage restrictions to lengthy line-ups at security, air travel has increasingly become a hassle – and that’s before you even set foot on a plane. And once you’re up there… if you’re trying to eat healthy, airplane food can put you on a crash course for failure, from the dearth of appetizing options to hidden fat and calories at every turn.

No, it’s not just the air up there. Making healthy meal choices at 35,000 feet really is more complicated than it is on the ground. Which is why DietDetective.com, a popular website that aims to sleuth out the calories in common foods, has rated air fare for nine major airlines. And with millions of travelers taking to the skies over the holiday season, the survey comes not a moment too soon.

“This is the third time we’ve looked at food offerings,” says Charles Stuart Platkin, Diet Detective’s founder and editor. “We looked at the airlines in 2000 and again last year. Certainly from the year 2000 we’ve seen a remarkable improvement. The airlines are realizing that people do want good-for-you foods and are looking into them and trying to sell them on-board and give them to people as options.”

This year’s survey looked at meal and snack offerings on nine major U.S. airlines, including American Airlines, Continental, Delta, JetBlue and United. Each airline received a rating of one to five stars based on the offerings available, variety, calories, nutritional density and airline cooperation.

Compiling the list was no easy feat, says Platkin. “It’s very difficult to get any of that information from the airlines.” He estimates it took between 10 to 15 emails per airline to obtain the necessary information.

With 4.5 stars, “United came out the winner,” says Platkin, followed by Continental with four. “United also won last year, but they went down half a point because this year we included all offerings available in-flight, not just the snack offerings.

“With United, their sandwiches and salads are not as healthful as their snacks because there’s not as much variety and also because within the variety they have, they don’t have a lot of flexibility. They have dressings and things like that already on their wraps and in their salads that aren’t necessarily optional,” Platkin says.

While the review didn’t include Canadian carriers (Platkin assures Air Canada and WestJet are on his hit list next year), Platkin has some helpful tips for healthy eating on-board, regardless of what airline you’re flying.

First and foremost: “Try to bring your own food on-board whenever possible.” Platkin says the biggest health toll from prepared foods comes from the lack of control you have over ingredients, and that fact that determining nutritional values of foods isn’t always easy.

He suggests making sandwiches at home, or bringing along cereal (you can ask the flight attendant for milk), energy bars, fresh or dried fruit, nonfat yogurt and other wholesome treats. “For longer flights, you can bring an insulated bag or take a small cooler. It might count against your carry-on but I think it’s worth it,” Platkin says.

If you are buying on-board, Platkin says to be choosy and to avoid calorie-laden dressings and sauces whenever possible.

“Salads can be very deceptive. If you get a salad with bacon, egg and dressing, it could be the equivalent of a Big Mac, so you really want to be careful there and not just assume that buying a salad on-board is a healthier choice. People also think that wraps are a healthier choice. But a wrap can have as many calories as regular bread and you don’t have much control over dressings and sauces because typically they are pre-made,” he says.

And don’t overlook offerings available at the airport, says Platkin. He points out that many terminal food courts now have outlets with healthier fare such as sushi and custom-made sandwiches.

Whatever you do, he says, it’s worth giving air fare some advance thought. “When it comes to flights, we’re looking for the cheapest flights possible. But it’s really important to look at what your food options are. Say you get stuck on the plane for three or four hours -- what are you going to eat? Seven bags of potato chips? You really need to pay attention and make sure you bring your own food.”

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